Chapter 8: Holes

3rd Person POV

*This is meant to be more of a filler chapter that I had an idea for.*

Shadow the Hedgehog had never intended for things to become so out of hand.

He was gradually becoming more light-headed and less aware of things when he was with Amy. He knew just enough to tell that nothing bad had happened during his dates with Amy, because she would give him that look of pleased adoration at the end. Still, his moments of clarity returned only when he was alone. There were holes in his memory: what happened when he fell from Space Colony Ark? why was there some sort of microchip behind his left ear? And what was going on between him and Amy?

The Ultimate Life Form slowly tried to answer these questions in his head. I nearly died, he guessed, and that's about it. What happened to those four years? Where was I? Looking at himself, he realized that there was no physical sign of aging on him. Not, he pointed out dryly, that there ever would have been.

Even though he was technically in his 50s/60s, he still appeared to be around 18. Which made sense, since I was in suspended animation for 50 years... That's it! I must have been in some form of suspended animation for the past four years, which would explain why I have no memories of that time. Next, the microchip. Trying to jump over the various gaps of knowledge in his mind, Shadow came to the conclusion that it had to do with GUN. As one of their best agents, they would want to keep me alive for as long as possible and keep track of where I was. That was the best explanation he could come up with as to why there was a microchip embedded into his left ear fur.

And now, Amy. Shadow couldn't deny that there was indeed some sort of physical attraction between him and the pink-colored hedgehog. When he had first seen her, he could barely prevent his jaw from plummeting to the ground. She had definitely … matured physically when he had first seen her. But Shadow could also tell that Amy had become emotionally stronger as well: she didn't seem to be relying on Sonic's support any more, and was now a strong-minded young hedgehog. His hedgehog, Shadow thought with an amused smile; it was almost as if fate had given him a second chance to protect Maria in the form of a pink-furred, green-eyed hedgehog whom he was currently involved with.

Still, something felt wrong. Shadow went back to analyze the holes in his memory. Why did he mention Eggman when he had first talked to Amy? What did Eggman have to do with his memory loss? Wh-

But Shadow couldn't answer this last question, for he seemed to be falling down an endless hole, just as he felt whenever he went with Amy. His thoughts were suddenly fading, until slowly, they stopped. He was falling while something else emerged, something he didn't know. And there was nothing he could do anymore.

I apologize for the painful amount of repetition involving the concept of holes. I just thought that it was a good metaphor for Shadow's current condition.

I'm trying to get off of my bum and finish this story this summer, especially since I'm really trying to get a legitimate StH story going. Until then, please tell me your opinion and explain why, rather than giving just a "Your story sucks" review. That really doesn't help, because I'm trying to make a good story for my audience, and just saying that my story sucks does not give me suggestions for how to make it not suck. Also, reviews make me more willing to finish.

Thanks for everything,

SkyFireAngel